Arsenal - Crystal Palace predictions and free betting tips [20/01/2024]

On Saturday, 20th January, as part of the 21st round of the Premier League, Arsenal will host Crystal Palace at home. The Gunners have had almost two weeks of rest after being knocked out of the English Cup 1/32 finals by Liverpool, while the Eagles capitulated to Everton in the second leg of the same round last Wednesday.

Predicted Line-ups

Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.

Crystal Palace: Henderson; Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Eze, Riedewald, Lerma, Schlupp; Edouard, Mateta.

Stadium

The match will be held in London at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal

Arsenal does not lack ambition this season after the capital team came so close to the title a year ago. The Gunners made a strong start but slowed down in December, explaining why they are currently in 4th place in the Premier League table, trailing 5 points behind leaders Liverpool. Furthermore, the hosts have won only one of the recent 5 league games, suffering 3 losses. The Londoners conceded to West Ham (0-2) and Fulham (2-1), and in 2024, they were knocked out of the 1/32 finals of the English Cup, losing at home to Liverpool with a score of 0-2. The hosts missed many chances to score against the Merseysiders, after which Jakub Kiwior scored an own goal, and then Luis Diaz doubled the reds' lead. It is important to note that Arsenal has never lost four games in a row under Arteta's guidance.

However, the Spaniard's charges dominated their Champions League group and will meet Porto in the playoffs. The London team is still without Justin Timber, who suffered a serious injury at the start of the season. The Dutchman remains in the infirmary, along with midfielders Partey and Vieira. The readiness of the fullback Zinchenko is also in question, while Elneny and Tomiyasu have gone to continental championships with their national teams. Winger Bukayo Saka remains a key attacking element for the Gunners (6 goals and 6 assists). The Englishman is expected to form an attacking trio alongside Brazilians Martinelli (2 goals and 2 assists) and Gabriel Jesus (3 goals). Despite recent failures, Arsenal can still boast the second-best defence (only 20 goals conceded).

Crystal Palace

This season, Crystal Palace is not in the best of times, currently sit in 14th place in the Premier League table, just five points clear of the relegation zone. In the last round, Roy Hodgson's team claimed a home win over Brentford with a score of 3:1. This result brought some relief, as it ended an eight-match winless streak in the national championship (three draws and five losses). Weak attack proved to be an issue for the Eagles in the 1/32 finals of the English Cup: the first leg against Everton ended goalless at Selhurst Park, and the sole goal by Andre Gomes in the 42nd minute decided the tie in the return game last week.

Meanwhile, the visitors have failed to keep a clean sheet in nine consecutive games. Crystal Palace's coaching staff cannot count on the crucial winger Olise (5 goals in 9 matches), experienced Ward (defender), Doucoure (defensive midfielder), as well as Holding (defender) and Rak-Sakyi (midfielder) - all injured. This is compounded by the absence of Jordan Ayew, who's participating in the African Cup of Nations with Ghana national team. Fun fact: the Ghanaian winger is one of the two players that received the most fouls in the Premier League this season (first place goes to Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle). Thus, Odsonne Edouard (6 goals) is expected to be in the front end of the white-blue attack, with playmaker Eze (3 goals) dictating play in midfield.

Head-to-head

In the last three meetings with the Gunners, Crystal Palace suffered losses, although in August the teams were separated only by a penalty converted by Martin Odegaard.

Match prediction for Arsenal - Crystal Palace

The Gunners have had a full two weeks to rest and recharge after a gruelling autumn-winter stretch of the season, and the expected return of Jesus in the starting lineup will give the hosts more sharpness in the final third of the pitch. On the contrary, Palace is facing personnel issues, and the team's physical fatigue after the midweek cup duel cannot affect the Eagles' state positively. My prediction is a victory for the favourites with a handicap of -1.5.

Total Bet

At home, Arsenal averages more than 2 goals per game, and the hosts are certainly going to assert themselves against a tired opponent. I'm betting on Arsenal's individual total over 2 goals.